ORLANDO, Fla. — Iowa State was 84 yards away from a historic 11th victory. It was a situation the team faced before. It was a situation the team had prepared for since January.
To ask Cyclones coach Matt Campbell the difference between this team and his others, it was about leadership. It was the toughness of quarterback Rocco Becht and the will to make history for the program.
Fifteen plays later, a game that saw four scoring plays of 20 or more yards and touchdowns on eight of the first nine drives came down to a single yard, with Becht rushing in for the winning score with 53 seconds left in the Cyclones’ 42-41 victory over Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
It gave Iowa State the first 11-win season in program history and capped a program-defining season.
“We’ve been in those situations before,” Becht said. “We practice it all the time. I think our team has the poise and the confidence to execute in the biggest moments. And that’s what we did.”
The Cyclones (11-3) needed last-minute, go-ahead drives in victories over Central Florida and Utah this season — going 80 yards in 11 plays to defeat UCF on a 1-yard rush by Becht with 30 seconds left and going 75 yards in 10 plays to defeat Utah on a 1-yard rush by Carson Hansen with 1:31 to play.
That helped Iowa State stack wins and reach the Big 12 championship game for the second time in program history. Only a 45-19 loss to Arizona State kept the Cyclones out of the College Football Playoff.
They bounced back in the bowl game to finish the season and leave their mark in Iowa State history.
“This team has faced a lot of adversity from some really tough injuries that we’ve had to deal with all year. They never flinched,” Campbell said. “Our ability to just keep playing. You only do that if the locker room demands it and the seniors who lead the football team show up every single day since January and believe in that and work.”
Becht, a senior quarterback, finished the game with 270 yards on 22-for-35 passing. He threw for three touchdowns and rushed for the winning score on his way to being named the game MVP. Jaylin Noel caught eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Carson Hansen rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns.
It took the whole team to finish this one and secure the historic victory. The defense finished the job, picking off backup quarterback Emory Williams’ last-gasp Hail Mary pass to ice the victory.
That would have been unheard of if not for the team Campbell put together and how they rallied to build this program.
“You’re losing leadership for the ages,” Campbell said. “You hope the next group learns from the great leaders and they’ve got the ability when it’s their turn to pick up and continue to lead.”
Campbell has led Iowa State to bowl games in seven of the last eight seasons. The program had been to only eight bowl games in the previous 16 seasons.
“I love this team so much,” Noel said. “I love Coach for everything he has done for me. This team means the world to me. There’s no better way to go out than as a champion.”
